Golden Oaks for Indian 2,000 Guineas

This picture has been used for representational purposes

An extremely intriguing contest is lined up on the Pune racetrack today in the second Classic of the campaign, the Gr 1, Indian 2,000 Guineas, slated as the feature event of Sunday's eight-race card.

Three horses who finished close to one another in their last start, the Bangalore 2,000 Guineas, will renew their battle: they are Lagarde, Nisus & Golden Oaks. Locking horns with the trio will be Alluring Silver, whose sparkling late run last Sunday won her many admirers, and Leopard Rock, whose two back-to-back effortless victories on this track qualify him as a dark horse.

My choice is Golden Oaks, despite the fact that Lagarde & Nisus recently finished ahead of him over the same trip at Bangalore. The reason is very simple: The Dynamic Rating (DyR) for that losing effort, after adjusting for pace fractions, actually comes out decidedly superior to both the horses who finished ahead of him!

First race at 1.30 pm.